Stolen, once again

Another meme from my Dad I've decided to try my hand at..."Five Things Society At Large Enjoys, But That I, For The Most Part, Just Don't Get..."

1. Today's coddle before teaching atmosphere As a 23 year old, I was raised in a time where it was still ok to get swatted up the backside every now and then. It was a time where there was still at least a good portion of attempt made to keep the parents involved in thier children's upbringing. However now, now you have doctors, specialists, and who knows who all attempting to raise a child. This "it takes a village" aspect in raising a child has left us with those who feel sorrow for the two boys who masterminded the Columbine slayings, as well as those parents who would rather take thier kids to a shrink before taking them aside to instil some character, some morals, some dicipline, some boundaries. It takes a parent(s) to raise a child, and while granted it takes some dumb luck, but it's more a matter of setting a good foundation early on that will help in putting children on the right track.



2. The extra curricular following of celebrities Today we live in a time where celebrities are more than just what they attempt to do. Thier lives, thier stories, thier sucesses/failures are all paraded into a 24/7 movie for all of the public to see. For reasons not needed to mention I wish this would stop very quickly.

3. Sports fairness You want a socialist side of me? Here it goes (and Pops and I argue about this constantly)- sports need to be on an even keel if they are able to grow. This does not mean everything should be equal, but that within reason there needs to be a similar rule base for each team within a given sport/league/conference/division. Baseball for instance has teams that range in payroll from 200 million+ to less than 30 million. Without a salary cap (as well as a more important salary floor) we can continue to see the same teams come October. It becomes a dual sport when everyone is on the same page, because then the real action is played both on the field as well as the front offices- because then scouting, signings, etc., become a much larger part of the game. It is called professional because of the addition of the afforementioned parts, so why not make them just as important as the talent on the field?

4. Religion why not save the big two for last? The first of the bigguns is religion. There is a sign on a house in Dinkytown that used to (I have not been by to see if that sign is still present) that reads, "No one idea has caused more pain and destruction than religion." Wars, slaughter, everything that has ever been done has its ties to an organized religion (9/11 being an obvious example, but WW2, the Crusades, the founding of our country are just a few examples). Following a diety is fine, however the organized religions have over the years ruined everything with man-made rules, falicies, dogmas, etc.

5. The current state of American politics You have three to four sides...the liberal left, the middle left, (the middle right), and the religious right (just another way religion has fucked things up). Take your pick, everyone seems to have an opinion these days about policy, which is great in a democracy, but the fact that people think in terms of thier own perfect country is where I would like to draw the line. Everyone must understand that America is not a perfect democracy, and the one we have in place is the product of over 200 years of experimenting with a game that rules keep constantly changing- but we cannot go back to switch it. If you are going to talk politics #1- realize that this country was set up as a capitolist nation and #2 that you have to work with the words of the Constiution, not interpritations of today.